Troubled clothing retailer The Wet Seal Inc. has brought back a company veteran to lead it into the future.

Retail industry veteran Melanie Cox takes over as CEO of the retailer, No. 490 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide. Cox, who had been head of product development for Wet Seal earlier in her career and is a current board member, succeeds Edmond Thomas, who was in his third go-around with the company and his second stint as CEO. The company, in a statement, says Cox and Thomas have been working together during the past few months to ease the transition.

Cox hopes to lead a renaissance for the retailer, which filed for bankruptcy at the start of the year and was acquired by private equity investment firm Versa Capital Management LLC in March. “I have studied and worked with this demographic for the majority of my career, and I know this is a valuable retail brand,” she said. “I am excited to collaborate with our Southern California management team, our store associates and our customers across the country to achieve Wet Seal’s tremendous potential.”

Top500Guide.com data shows that Wet Seal’s online sales have declined over the past three years, falling to an Internet Retailer-estimated $28.05 million in 2014 from $34.82 million in 2012, a drop of 19.5% over that time.